Thin Ice

This evening, after spending half the day at a swim meet, we took the kids ice-skating.  I know (in the words of a 3 year old Sam) we are a little crazy in the hair.  Loopy, for sure.

Sooo, last week, on our weekly field trip, I took the kids to the U.S. Figure Skating Museum.  Yep, right here in Colorado Springs.  It might have something to do with that silly Olympic Training Center, I don't know....Anyway, we saw lots of sequins and trophies. I had no idea that there were so many different kinds of ice-skates.  Seriously.

After visiting the museum, I thought that it might be fun to go ice-skating. After mentioning ice-skating out loud (big, huge mistake) I quickly realized that taking four kids ice-skating was more than I could handle alone.  Well, since these kids never. forget. a. thing, I had to hold true to my promise of skating.  Not just any skating, but ICE-skating.

So, between Scott and I and a whole mess of orange buckets stacked together, we took the four kids ice-skating. We not only lived to tell about it but had an awesome time.  Sam and Alice did pretty well right off the bat, Mason definitely was a bit spazzy without the buckets and some parental help but Paige was the bucket skater extraordinaire.  She held on tight and skated around and around and around.....and did not want to stop. 

These kids had so much fun that they didn't even realized we had ice-skated right through the dinner hour.  If you know my kids, they don't like to miss a meal, ever.  This skating thing had to be super good to miss dinner.

Taking the obligatory shot of the museum sign...

Have an awesome start to the week!  We are going to fill in as much as possible in this last week before heading to MI and then starting school.  Hard to believe that our summer break is winding down!

Love to you all,
Jennifer

Sleepy Saturday

Sam

and his silly sisters



swam on a sunny Saturday

in a swim meet.

We are all seriously sleepy.

So long Saturday.  See you Sunday.

At another steamy swim meet.

Still Here....

Okay,  I know it has been a few days since my last post.  We have been pretty busy around these parts.  Life doesn't really seem to slow down for summer break but is just a different kind of busy.  As the end of summer gets closer, I start to feel the back to school panic.  Do you ever have that feeling or is it just me? We haven't had quite as many field trips as we would have liked and we are still working on our meadow/mountain mural in the basement but we have had a ton of fun riding bikes, hiking, hanging out at the pool and enjoying our time with Scott home.  I hope to post again soon with pictures of frolicking children but for now you get this.  This is pretty much how I am feeling right now :)

Good night. Sleep tight. 

Jennifer

$7.25

The best money ever spent.  On the clearance rack at the local drug store.  I could not pass it up. 
The kiddos, three of them at least, thought this sprinkler was the best.  (Sam thought he was too big for a sprinkler).

Yurting

Yurting.  Doesn't it sound so nice and fancy.  Like a hike could be a mere jaunt in the woods.  Yurting is our version of camping light. Instead of putting up the tent and sleeping on the ground we drive up to our yurt and lay sleeping bags out on bunk beds.  Very comfy and plush compared to, well, the ground.  Don't get me wrong, we love to tent camp.  It is a great way to vacation around the state on the cheap.  This past weekend we headed southwest to the Ridgeway/Ouray area.  The San Juan mountains tower over this part of Colorado and it could be one of the most beautiful areas we have visited.  So, we reserved a yurt in the Ridgeway campground and got busy checking out the area.  Highlights of the weekend included hot springs, Ridgeway beach, waterfalls, steep cliffs, charades around the campfire and Frosty's (hey, we gotta keep all these kids quiet somehow!)

 hike to Cascade Falls in Ouray

 enjoying campfire popcorn

 Mason fishing in a pond near Ridgeway Reservoir

 Smores are yummy!

 The Badger Den~ our home away from home for 4 days

 All that fresh air really wore Jesse out.....

 the view from our campsite

Sam making sand castles (could somebody get that kid a burger!)

Sam and Alice messing around

 Cascade Falls from across town

more sand castles

Box Canyon Falls

Now to the fun part of camping, washing clothes, putting away camping gear, etc..................

I hope you all had an awesome weekend!  We are having some hot (like melting hot) weather and I love, love, love it!!!!!

Jennifer

Another Day, Another Swim Meet

Happy Wednesday to you!

Jennifer

Sam Runs....

and runs....and runs.....
The kid loves to run. 

Sam ran his first 5K race while we were staying in Summit County.  We had been talking about running one together for a while but it is so hard to find a race and a date when we are not busy.  So, as luck would have it, there was a trail race at Copper Mountain the first weekend after we arrived in Breckenridge. 

He did great!  He did get a pretty nasty cramp in his side but with some breathing practice that will get better.  We both enjoyed the sport jelly beans at the aid station, yum!  Way to go Sam!  I am so proud of you!
He ran some killer hills and lived to tell about it :)

Now I have another running buddy!

Jennifer

Heading Home

We have thoroughly enjoyed our week in the mountains.  It seems that like is just a little calmer up here at 10,000 feet.  There is still lots of snow on the mountains and streams are overflowing their banks.  The wildflowers are all in bloom. Yesterday afternoon we hiked. The kids had fun playing in water run-off and finding rocks to climb.  Another beautiful day.

Off to pack up the truck and head for home. 
Looking forward to a wonderful weekend!
Jennifer

Miles to Go

Today we biked about 11 miles to Frisco and back.  We toured the Frisco Historical Museum and stretched out our legs downtown Frisco before heading back to Breckenridge.  The kids did awesome and we only had one minor crash :) 

Happy Wednesday!

Love, Jennifer

Happy 4th of July~Pirate Style

Just one day late :)

We are on vacation in Breckenridge, one of our favorite places in Colorado.  We are spending the week relaxing and enjoying family and friends.  Life is so good.  Yesterday on the 4th we participated in the Breckenridge Parade.  Last year we had so much fun that we knew we would do it again.  And we did.  We really did it this year.  I am talking about pint sized pirates, a water canon, water balloons, candy coins, frisbees and much more.  We decorated the trailer with black plastic sheeting, a mast and sail and pirate flag.  We even had a few parrots "hanging" around.  All the kids (and some adults) were dressed in their finest pirate garb and we took Breckenridge by storm and water balloon.  We got really wet and had way too much fun!!!!  Look out next year Breck, we are already planning our next attack!

After the parade we had lunch with my parents and then headed downtown Breck for the free Rusted Root concert.  Our friends The Young's met us at the concert and then we hung out with them for the rest of the evening.  We caught the Breckenridge fireworks and then off to bed.  We were pooped by that point and the kids crashed.  I have a ton more pictures from the second half of the day but the WiFi is super slow and I am having some trouble uploading pics. I hope you all had an awesome fourth and a great week!

Jennifer